Revolutionary central cooling system planned for Brisbane

An energy-saving revolution 80 years in the making could be about to hit Brisbane.

The CBD is set to follow a host of major European and Asian cities, such as Paris, London and Singapore, in implementing a centralised cooling system that could dramatically reduce the city's carbon footprint.

A cold production unit, an example of the central cooling technology that could be bound for Brisbane. Photo: Supplied

But only if enough commercial operators sign up.

The ambitious project has been under investigation by the Brisbane City Council's sustainability agency CitySmart and will on Friday gauge the interest of the private sector.

Essentially, the system works by establishing a centralised water chilling plant that replaces individual chillers and cooling towers on city buildings.

The buildings are hooked up to the large thermal energy system, which chills water during off-peak periods, then provides air-conditioning during the day.

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Deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner has been working closely with CitySmart on the project and said it could potentially save 21,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, or the equivalent of the entire annual energy output of more than 2500 Brisbane homes.

In addition, he said the project could create 500 jobs and reap up to $530 million in economic benefits.

"CitySmart's role is as a facilitator, not a funder but we believe there is a business case," he said.

"We know there is a lot of interest from companies, the issue is getting enough to sign up."

While over the long term the scheme would deliver significant cost savings, Cr Schrinner said convincing companies of the value of the initial investment could prove a hurdle.

Vaughan Furniss, Australian chief executive of multi-utility company Cofely, said if companies had ageing individual chiller infrastructure, there could actually be cost savings in signing up to the plan.

He said centralised energy systems were not a new concept but had risen rapidly in popularity across Europe and Asia over the past two decades due to soaring energy costs.

"The type being proposed for Brisbane has been in operation for more than 80 years for heating and in the last 30 years plus for cooling," he said.

Mr Furniss said despite its international usage, it was only in the past five years Australian companies had begun investigating it.

Should the scheme eventuate, Brisbane would be the first Australian city to implement a centralised cooling scheme on such a large scale.

Similar heating and cooling systems have been rolled out on smaller scales in Australia, such as on university campuses.

Townsville's James Cook University is among the sites to have successfully implemented the system.

Mr Furniss's company was behind the award-winning system constructed at the London Olympics site, as well as large-scale projects in Barcelona, Birmingham and Southampton.

He said despite a similar scheme for heating failing last year in Sydney, he believed the Brisbane project had what it took to succeed.

"We think Brisbane's got it right asking for a district cooling network," Mr Furniss said.

"It's a lot about taking people on a journey, in making that cultural shift in terms of how you produce and consume energy."

Should the project garner enough private sector interest, Mr Furniss said the first stage could be operational within two years.